chapter 4
After being dragged away from the room of pure heaven and being forced into one of the most brutal trainings ever but that's probably because I have to train for three events.
Walking back into the dorm complex I completely dodge the elevator, I swear Ali has given me her fear for elevators because I can't even look at one without getting uncomfortable. Walking up four flights of stairs it is then. I actually jog up them just so I can get into the room quicker and shower and call Ali since Tina is out with her teammates I guess.
Jess who makes These stairs because I swear they are trying to kill me. Finally getting to my floor I want to crawl into my covers and sleep for three months straight.
I pick up my towel I left out on my bed and hop into the shower and sigh in relief when the scalding water eases my strained, tired muscles.
I quickly hop out and look at my tattoo on my rib cage and the one across shoulder blade to shoulder blade.
The best day of your life is the one in which you decide it's your own, no apologies, no excuses, no one to rely on to lean on or blame, the gift is yours. It is an amazing journey and you alone, are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life begins- on rib cage from under the left boo all way down to hip.
and Durch eine dunkle Nacht . Es gibt einen helleren Tag- it's German it means through a dark night. There is a brighter day.
My last one is my sleeve
It's a time piece it has a clock with roses on it and has significant people initials in it in the best rose I have there is a new addition ABK she didn't want me to get her initials or her name tattood on me but shh it's a secret and I obviously have HAO with it being inside yang skilfully drawn I also have a tea kettle there and she has the ying on her wrist with a jammie dodger with my initials it also has a music bar with notes on it and coming off it turning into a phoenix as music can give us a new lease of life and we can be reborn.
For my dad I have the last thing he wrote to me on my right fore arm in his handwriting be safe stay strong, I love you!
I've never known my mum but me and my twin sister never wanted to know about her, there was no point.
We have matching tattoos on the back of my neck
I have sister to sister, she has heart to heart, I have bonded together and she has right from the start.
And my biggest one is on my back it's the heavens opening up and in the middle is the beast cancer pin and live on the left of it love on the right of it and life under it and my grandma's initials in the pin because she sadly passed of breast cancer.
I enter the room with shorts and a sports bra on and pick up my phone it's only 5:30 so she should be free.
I ring and it takes a little while for her to pick up
"Hey baby"
She breathes out whilst taking deep breathes
"Why you out of breath babe?"
"Oh you know left my phone in the bathroom again and had to hop all the way to get it because I heard you ring tone"
I chuckle, typical Ali
"Hey are you going to watch the opening ceremony?"
"Yes we are why?"
"Tell the girls to look out for a few of us because we'll be doing something for you guys"
"Okay?"
she draws out questioning my motives
"It's a good thing, I promise"
"Okay babe, you tired?"
"Yeah last be full on training until tomorrow's rounds for judo and taekwondo"
"Ouch I've seen your training when they mix it"
"Yeah but I had a shower and I'm now good and can probably last all the way through the ceremony"
She chuckles
"I can see it now judo taekwondo boxing star for the United States asks basketball player to use her shoulder as pillow as shes exhausted from day of training"
I laugh with her
"Nah I think I'll Skype you guys so you can at least feel like your in the March for the United States."
"Awe that'll be nice, thanks"
"Anything for my princess, anyway I got to get ready we leave in an hour"
"Okay babe ill see you on tv and on skype"
"Wait remember to hook up your laptop to the projector so everyone can see"
"Will do bye love you"
"Love you too"
And I grab my ceremony suit and Tina walks in and grabs hers
"Hey you got the shirts?"
She asks me
"Yeah and tell the girls I appreciate it"
"No problem I think they will want to keep the tops though"
"That's absolutely fine"
I hand her 11 shirt and she quickly leaves
now I have seven left well 6 since I'm wearing one and I get dressed and put the blazer over my top and walk down to where the girls on the teams for boxing taekwondo and judo are and thank the 6 girls for doing this.
They said it would be an honour to do this.
When we are all readyr put out hats on and hop onto the busses the martial arts are in the bus with both basketball teams and the track and field teams. I sat near the back since I was one of the first on when I'm poked on the shoulder and turn to see a friend I made in the 2008 Olympics lebron James.
I take my headphones off and clap hands with him and hug
"Hey man, how's it going?"
"Pretty good I was going to ask you how it was going but by the new middle weight champion of the world in woman's ufc then I know it's pretty good"
"Well I needed to go for it finally after coming up from light weight I had to show them I wasn't a push over what ether way to do it?"
He chuckles and sits back down
"True very true, you know the guys right?"
"Yeah Chris, kobe, deron and carmelo right?'
"Yeah plus Kevin love and derant, Andre, Russel, tyson, James and Blake"
"Nice to met you guys"
I say to the ones I didn't know
"You too"
They say
"Why aren't you wearing he right top"
"For a friend some others are doing it too"
"Oh right well have a nice tournament hopefully you will come see some games?"
"I will if you come to my fights"
"Oh I've already got tickets"
He replies
"Me too" kobe and chris say
"Well it's a good thing I already bought mine then ain't it"
I say and we have a laugh but we pull up to the park and it looks amazing I whistle lowly, impressive.
We soon watch the ceremony and we have to line up and we are one of the last and when we hear our name we walk out and wave and we see the president and first lady I wave respectively amazing nd soon see a camera on us and I quickly walk to the girls and we take our blazers off and turn around to show the camera that we are wearing the USA women's soccer teams tops obviously I am wearing number 11 and I look at Tina and she chose hope solos top. Oh that's funny. I look at the camera near me and wink at it. We quickly look at the president again and they are laughing but clapping proudly so we wave and carry on working. I quickly ring the girls well Ali but the girls will be there.
Ali pov a few minutes earlier
We watch the TV and see our country come out and we are all hooting and hollering when I see Jamie and the girls on her teams and the basketball team they aren't wearing the right top. They quickly wave to the president and first lady then Jamie looks at the camera then we see her move to the ladies and they remove their blazers to see our tops being worn
"Oh my GOD!"
they shout and scream
I hear the commentary
"I think they are- they turn and point to the names- yep definitely wearing the tops of the USA female football team, they sadly aren't hear because they have to be in Scotland and I belive we are missing a number since Jamie Jackson is wearing Ali Kriegers number 11 wait nope she is now holding Christine Rampone's shirt up with pride behind her and passes Tina Charles a goalies top now she's wearing number one hope solos but wait she's waving ashyln Harris's too( now I know she wasn't there but just use your imagination)
I look at Christie to see her in tears in fact all of them were
"I believe we got a brand new tweet from jamies twitter
@jjufcwomens couldn't leave the captain out now could we, I had to wear ali's since she is a friend but Christie has me beat on olympic runs so to my idol had to wave her shirt with pride- well we can tell who did this now, it's great to see that after all this time she is still how she was when she first started-"
My laptop rings, I see it's Jamie I answer and hook it up to the projector which we also put a camera there so she can see us
"HEY GUYS!"
she shouts
"Hey Jamie, what you did there was amazing thanks so much"
Lauren says
"Hey no I did that because you couldn't be here and I couldn't let you not be here so in a way now you are"
She says
"Thanks for waving my shirt"
Cap says
"I have looked up to you since I discovered who your were and it was an honour to do something like that plus only fair you are beating me at olympic runs here"
Cap chuckles
"Okay but thank you"
"No worries but the girls are keeping your shirts sorry and there is no way you are getting your old shirt back Ali or Christie"
"Wait they are our old shirts?"
I ask
"Well I went to a game and managed to get the shirt Christie Rampone wore that day and I've kept it ever since and yes it's your old top from the last ear world cup, you left it I kept it"
She says
"Anyway how would you like your own personal view of the hill and Obama?"
"He'll yes!"
Ashyln shouts
"Okay ash 3,2,1 here ya go"
She chuckles out but turns it and I can see Obama and other heads of countries and the hill looks amazing
This was going to be an amazing night
Jamies pov
After a couple of hours it all blurred together and I fell asleep as soon as my head hit my pillow.
I woke to buzzing and answered my phone
"Hello?"
"Hey baby time to get up you got training in half an hour and your rounds for taekwondo and judo are today"
"So is the Columbian game give the team my good luck will you?"
"Will do love you"
"Love you too princess"
I quickly get up and changes into my girlfriend ready to go and we all get on the bus and to the stadium and quick warm ups then we start I'm against this Spanish lady and all the way through I couldn't get anything when she quickly gets a point for a yuko I thought that was it when she says
"2 time olympic champion down not gonna get up a we little baby not gonna get up and have a tantrum about it?"
That's when in the last 18 seconds I smash her with an ippon and take the win. I walk to the referee shake his hand and storm to coach
"She can get away with saying stuff like that?!"
I am not happy but I go to support Marti give her a quick hug and say good luck and say go get her
she manages to hold her own on the Portuguese lady and gets a counter attack yuko in golden score and wins it
"Wooh well done Marti! "
She runs over and hugs us both
"Well done Marti"
"Thanks jamie"
"No problem, now come on quick cool down then wait till next one"
round of 16
next is the brazillian and we fight until she gets a wazari shit! Then the judges confirm take the away from her because she attacked the leg the honsoku maki giving me 100 and winning. I quickly go to console the brazillian and go hug my coach.
"Quarter finals baby!, quarter finals!"
I then watch marti's and she gets the flaming ippon on her well done Marti, why down graded to a wazari makes no sense but she's still got the lead and then it ends up going to the judges and they all raise the white flag for Marti. Yeah!
I look at the time and see that it's almost kick off in Scotland for USA after coming back from 2-0 down against France to 4-2 their game against Cuba is going to be a good one
I text Ali
To greater person in the world, she put that in my phone when we first met I found it funny so I kept it
"Hey tell girls good luck and to kick columbias ass